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By: Lang & Klain, P.C.

Latest from Construction Advisor Blog - Page 2

The Arizona Supreme Court rules that a homebuilder cannot contract its way out of its obligations under the implied warranty doctrine.

  • See:

    “

    Court Reaffirms Contract Requirement in Implied Warranty Breach

    ,” by Mike Thal, March 2015

Despite the courts’ repeated reaffirmation of that doctrine, at least one homebuilder tried to use its sales contract to escape its implied warranty obligations. That strategy was shot down in September 2022, when the Arizona Supreme Court, in

Zambrano v. M & RC II LLC

,

sent back for trial a homebuyer’s lawsuit that the Court ruled had been dismissed in error.

Background…
Continue Reading Implied warranty protection overrules a conflicting contract provision

As with any contract, understand your potential obligations when entering into an equipment lease.

While one of the leased cranes was in Sepesy’s possession, its telescopic boom was damaged, making the crane inoperable.

The damaged crane was stored for some time at Sepesy’s property before a towing company was hired to transport the damaged crane to a repair company. After loading the crane and leaving Sepesy’s yard, the tow truck driver drove into a ditch, flipping the trailer and damaging the crane’s exterior.

The crane was eventually repaired and returned to service, but only after more than 14 months of…
Continue Reading Risks of equipment leasing for contractors

Properly drafted contractual provisions can be among your construction business’s best allies.

  • limit risks

  • increase the costs and decrease the rewards for those who bring groundless claims

  • defend your business from costly lawsuits.

Before you invest time in drafting a contract, remember that some jobs just aren’t worth the risk. Customers who want you to build the impossible – overnight, on a very tight budget – will be trouble. If you think the customer is destined to be unhappy, you are probably right. Walk away. The profit you might make on the project is tiny compared to what you could…
Continue Reading Contractors: A good construction contract reduces risk, boosts profits

In its September 2022 issue,

Phoenix

magazine has listed Lang & Klain litigation attorneys

Bill Klain

and

Mickell Summerhays

among its “Top Lawyer” selectees for 2022.

The magazine made its selections from voting conducted among Phoenix-area attorneys.
Continue Reading Bill Klain, Mickell Summerhays are Phoenix magazine "Top Lawyer" selectees

In its September 2022 issue,

Phoenix

magazine has listed Lang & Klain litigation attorneys

Bill Klain

,

Jamie Hanson

and

Mickell Summerhays

among its “Top Lawyer” selectees for 2022.

The magazine made its selections from voting conducted among Phoenix-area attorneys.
Continue Reading Klain, Hanson, Summerhays are Phoenix magazine "Top Lawyer" selectees

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This article was originally published May 3, 2022.

If

OSHA

follows through on its threat to strip workplace safety enforcement from the state, Arizona employers should expect a much harsher regulatory environment.

On April 20, citing what it termed the State of Arizona’s “decade-long pattern of failures” in enforcing private workplace safety, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

announced its intention to revoke the Arizona State Plan

, under which the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH) – in place of OSHA – conducts workplace safety inspections and enforcement.

Arizona is one of 28 states and…
Continue Reading OSHA takeover update: Comment period extended by 60 days, public hearing postponed

On a residential project, even a minor

ROC discipline

against your

contractor’s license

can trigger a

Recovery Fund award

and a second license suspension.

By

Andrew Wenker

If the Recovery Fund makes a payment,

the license will automatically be suspended again

until the licensee has repaid the Recovery Fund, with interest. If the contractor does not incur costs at the outset to resolve the underlying complaint, it will inevitably do so at the end if it wants to continue in construction.

This creates a real hardship for contractors that have to generate income in order to repay the Recovery Fund…
Continue Reading ROC license suspensions and Recovery Fund awards

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The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that, if an architect or engineer is negligent in their work on a project, and if they do not have a direct contract with the project owner, they are not obligated to reimburse the owner for the cost of their negligence.

  • “[D]esign professionals lacking privity of contract with project owners do not owe a duty to those owners to reimburse them for purely economic damages.”

That opinion does not mean that negligent design professionals get off scot-free. (“

Donnelly

‘s demise does not insulate design professionals from legal consequence for their negligence,” the opinion…
Continue Reading No contract? Negligent architects, engineers not obligated to reimburse project owner for losses

rajiv-bajaj-i4QIqfcTkN8-unsplash sun heat Photo by Rajiv Bajaj on Unsplash
Photo by Rajiv Bajaj on Unsplash

Contractors in central and southern Arizona know all too well the work hazards that accompany Arizona’s notorious summers. OSHA’s recently launched National Emphasis Program on Outdoor and Indoor Heat Hazards (NEP) provides a useful reminder of the risks of heat stress and how to help workers avoid it.

Before we describe some of the resources at your disposal, let’s briefly discuss the NEP and its application in Arizona. The NEP, which went into effect April 8 and is scheduled to continue for three years, calls for heat-specific workplace inspections in over 70 high-risk industries (including construction) at locations where the…
Continue Reading Heat stress: Reducing the safety risks to outdoor workers

https-irp-cdn-website-com-76bd1e9f-dms3rep-multi-osha-takeover-600x400-webp

If

OSHA

follows through on its threat to strip workplace safety enforcement from the state, Arizona employers should expect a much harsher regulatory environment.

On April 20, citing what it termed the State of Arizona’s “decade-long pattern of failures” in enforcing private workplace safety, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

announced its intention to revoke the Arizona State Plan

, under which the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH) – in place of OSHA – conducts workplace safety inspections and enforcement.

Arizona is one of 28 states and territories that operate their own OSHA-approved state plans.
Continue Reading OSHA takeover? How Arizona contractors can prepare

Unintended Consequences.

A contractor can be disciplined for, according to

A.R.S. § 32-1154(A)(20)

:

“having a person named on the license who is or was named on any other license in this state or in another state that is under suspension or revocation for any act or omission that occurs while the person is or was named on the license.”

Why that is bad: If someone serves as the QP on their “buddy’s” license, while simultaneously being the QP for their own company, their own company could be disciplined because of the discipline imposed on the other license.

Additionally, unresolved…
Continue Reading Are you really sure you want to be the qualifying party on your “buddy’s” ROC license?